Crews plowing Sun Road alpine stretch

Park visitors will be able to travel a little farther this week when Glacier National Park crews are plowing the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Hikers and bikers can now go from the gate at Lake McDonald Lodge to the avalanche exhibit beyond Avalanche Campground. The plow crews will be working beyond The Loop and headed toward Road Camp on the west side this week. Road Camp is a wide spot in the road just before Haystack Creek.

On the east side, plow crews moved equipment from Two Medicine and are now working on the Sun Road. The road is open to vehicles to Rising Sun. The Two Medicine Road is open to Running Eagle Falls, but closed to vehicles beyond that.

While plows have cleared the Two Medicine Road, it could take a few days of melting before toilets are accessible at the campground. On the level, there is about four to five feet of snow and drifts range from 12 to 20 feet high. Two Medicine Lake is still frozen over. The plowed road surface has no ice, and hikers, bikers and skiers were all enjoying the valley over the weekend.

Other roads have opened in Glacier Park. The Quarter Circle Bridge Road is now open but could close again if high water runs over the road at the bridge. That could happen as temperatures are expected to be warm this week, but cooling into the 50s by the weekend.